AU: Complete revamp of the pre-original Trilogy story based mostly on dialogue and backstory present in Episode IV: A New Hope. This book and any following it will depict the adventures of Obi-wan Kenobi, friend and Mentor to Luke's father and that man's journey from a freighter pilot and brother of Owen Larrs to Jedi Knight in his own right. From where did this man acquire the name 'Skywalker', how was it passed on to his son and was he indeed betrayed by a brother in arms during the Clone Wars, by a Jedi Pupil named Darth Vader... read and find out.
STAR WARS
The Smuggler's Gambit
At the height of their eminence the Jedi Knights guard the Republic
from threats both without and from within.
As vaunted Keepers of the Peace many seek to join their ranks from
origins both exotic and humble.
A seasoned Knight Obi-wan Kenobi meets a young man destined to change the
face of the known Galaxy as his Apprentice impressed by his bravery and his
connection to the Force, the source of the Jedi's Power.
As this man embarks on the long and dangerous road to Knighthood another man begins a journey
of his own. A path of greed and deception that will lead him to great fortune at a grave cost
to the rest of the Universe...
Prologue:
"I'm already starting to regret letting you talk me into this B-... Kenobi", Anakin muttered, hands brushing irritably at the empty nekk hide holster on his hip.
Running one of his own over gathering auburn stubble the elder man offered a slight knowing smile; both of the almost slip made with his name and of what was really troubling the usually brash young pilot.
"One does not come seeking knowledge at blaster point", he remarked softly, settling back in one of the meditation chamber's short backed chairs.
What ever Anakin's retort may have been was cut short by a quiet hiss as the door swished open and two pairs of eyes moved down to meet the newcomer.
"An applicant you have for me Knight Kenobi?", Yoda spoke glancing only briefly at the other Jedi the majority of his ancient gaze reserved for the younger human standing at too rigid attention on the far side of the room.
"Indeed, Master Yoda I would like to present humbled being as a candidate for learning", Obi-wan filled in the formalities smoothly, standing and bowing his head to the Master of the Order.
Yoda said nothing but Obi-wan could sense him stretching out toward Anakin, brushing his presence lightly against the sandy haired youth searching for a flicker that would indicate his probe had been consciously recognised.
Other than frowning into the silence there was no reaction on Anakin's behalf. A good sign; if Yoda's probe had been detected then that would mean Anakin had touched the Force knowingly already and due to his age would have been rejected for further training.
Assured, Obi-wan turned to his old mentor and was puzzled by the oddly neutral expression on his face. Before he could speak however it was gone and Yoda was motioning the wouldbe Padawan to a seat in the centre of the chambers.
"Sit young one, Knight Kenobi senses the Force in you, determine that for myself I would"
"And how are you going to do that exactly? Jedi scratch test?" Anakin's smirk faded slightly as he noted Obi-wan wince and slowly shake his head.
"A ready wit you have I see, yes"
"I'm not afraid is all"
"You will be", the Jedi Master intoned solemnly, pointed ears flattening out, "You, will be".
And with his attention completely on the tiny alien before him Anakin's world suddenly lurched forward and plunged downward.
Obi-wan shuffled from foot to foot as his friend's expression grew slack, indicating that Yoda had taken advantage of his narrowed field of attention to grasp at his mind and pull.
This was where the test really began. Having induced the beginning of a suggestive state Yoda would be waiting to see if Anakin's unconscious mind would draw on the Force to repel the foreign presence.
There was a faint tinge of fear within the flow of the Force that told Obi-wan that Anakin had recognised something was not right. That alone would confirm force-sensitivity but unless his mind pushed back that was all-
Obi-wan yelped as the carpet beneath his feet shifted, crumpling toward the pair in the centre of the room, a bone deep buzz resonating in the base of the auburn haired mans skull.
"Anakin don-" he had begun, unable to say for certain later
on how he had known the approaching sense of trouble was linked. Then a pressure wave knocked him sideways. Staggered, surprised, he was a Jedi none the less and kept his footing.
"Finished here are we", Yoda muttered thoughtfully as he turned from a gasping Anakin to his fellow Jedi, indicating with a tilt of the head that he was to follow.
Sparing his friend a reassuring glance Obi-wan moved to the corridor with his former mentor, neither speaking until the door hissed closed behind them.
"Return to his freighter your friend may, not suited to a Padawan be"
"Master...", the other Jedi began tactfully, "I know his response to the kick test was a touch... direct. But surely it was acceptable if unusual?"
"You think that a being who would use violence without thought is one who could be Jedi?"
"With respect Master, Qui-gon told me his own test was-"
"Qui-gon sort to rebuff and confuse, escape was clear in his mind when he was tested... so much anger... want to destroy that which he did not expect or understand", the smaller being's eyes captured his, "Ruled by fear his heart was".
"Trained he will not be".
With a strike of his gimmer stick to the floor the conversation was ended and Obi-wan was left frowning after the Grand Master's retreating form.
Behind him the door slide aside, Anakin leaning against then doorframe, shoulders tense.
"How'd it go?"
"... Oh, you know..."
"That bad huh?", a dark look chased its way down the corridor from Anakin's brow.
"Not necessarily...", rubbing his temple absently, too aware of the import of what he was considering.
"Apprenticeship is one way to become a Jedi, the usual way, but not the only. There is Concordance"
"Wizard... And now in basic", the glib remark drew a faint smile from the elder man.
"Practioners of a similar age enter into a pact to train one another in areas they excel where the other does not"
"Nice idea... you know, other than me not knowing anything Force related", Anakin pointed out flexing the fingers o his right hand irritably.
"You do have a small talent. Your ability to combine Foresight with piloting is bounds beyond my own. Something which would be boon to learn".
"Didn't you say that was all subconscious?"
"Yes"
"So his would be more exploiting a loophole than anything else?"
"Anakin", Obi-wan intoned, resting a hand on his shoulder, "You will be a Jedi, that I promise you".
Chapter One:
Six months later...
A frozen droplet of pure light cast in hints of sapphire hung suspended, impossibly by the measures of some, above the cupped palm of the young man sat behind a short stack of plastoid crates in the rear of Cargo Freighter 'A Fighting Chance'. Objectively a mere rigid collection of carbon this tiny crystal hid something that the eyes alone could see no more clearly than any one of the sextillion individual atoms that comprised its crude, physical structure. To one who could touch the Force however, this little marvel was luminescent.
Anakin felt a small smile spill across his chapped lips as, almost aware of his attention, the small Illum gemstone loosed a clear burbling note that only he could or ever would hear.
Crosslegged on the cold steel decking his hips and back ached faintly from holding this position for far too many hours but it had all been worth it for this one moment. The moment when after being sat hunched in the stale air of his ship's cargo bay under faltering glow panels his crystal had finally responded to the touch of his mind, rendered clear and focused by the ever flowing tides of the Force. Honestly he had been dubious when Obi-wan had told him to do this and more than a little suspicious of being the subject of some odd cultist nonsense. Yes the Force was real, there was no denying this after all these months spent learning to consciously recognise the insistent nudges that had followed him most of his life. Urging him to go left not right, to skip over the inviting but rotten fruit at the front of the stall and grab the one at the back even though they looked the same in the moments attention he had spared them.
It had worried him at first, the notion that his actions were being guided without his knowledge, hurt his pride as a pilot. However his one time passenger, come friend, come mentor had assured him that the Force only offered. What and how he chose to employ its hints was down to him and his talents alone.
Well, he thought with another more rye smile, him and his aforementioned tutor.
So he had sat here in a place of thoughtful repose, though likely not one his friend would have chosen considering his first encounter here had almost ended in his being shot by Anakin as a trespasser. The fact Obi-wan had not sensed the younger man sneaking up on the suspected stowaway was one more tally in his list of reasons for taking him to the Order.
That and the bond that tends to form when you spend three months chasing down a group of counterfeiters financed by the Hutt crime syndicate to replace small quantities of legitimate cargo with cheap imitations and sell the real deal off on the black market at double the price the fakes were pulling in from the corporations they were being funnelled to.
Anakin had gone from supposed conspirator in the whole sordid affair to convenient cover story as employer of 'Ben' Kenobi to confidant as Obi-wan had used his ship and reputation as a top notch pilot to infiltrate further up the ranks of the operation. Trusted with delivering whole ship loads of counterfeits to the ports from which they would be distributed to unknowing cargo haulers, the pair had been able to track the copies back to their manufacturer and from there back to their financiers.
Though it sounded simple in hindsight there had been a number of tense moments. Fleeing from a Republic Customs Patrol Boat that had pulled a surprise inspection in the midst of one pickup had nearly resulted in disaster as having Obi-wan comm the Sector Security Force with his Jedi ID codes even on an encrypted channel would have alerted their would be accomplices that their new bedfellows were not whom they appeared to be.
It was here Anakin's dormant gift had come to the fore, allowing him to evade the supposedly faster and decidedly more deadly Patrol Boat gunship by a hairsbreadth. Disappearing into Hyperspace with the cargo intact they had cemented their allies and Obi-wan's opinion of his potential.
One week and one Holonet call to the Jedi Temple on Courscant later and the Financial Ministerial branch of the Senate had suspended the accounts and assests of all members of counterfeiting ring held within Republic administered banks and holdings. He was a hero, in a convoluted and bizarre sort of a way, though he would very likely never be thanked by any spokesman of the defrauded companies the Hutts had tried to bilk and it send a little thrill of warmth through him that echoed out into the Force and bounced back at him from the oddly warm gem telekinetically gripped above his hand.
Who'd have thought a boy from a sandy backwater planet, an independent trader at that, would help save 'big business' and join the mystic ranks of the Jedi. The thought of home brought with it a faint pang of loneliness and his focus wavered. Annoyed that the place still held sway after all these years he frowned as his gemstone wobbled in the air, the frown maturing to a glare as his attempts to keep it up by sheer force of will only seemed to make it tremble more.
"Anakin?", a soft but cultured voice called, breaking his revery and his focus.
"Kriff", he muttered as the Force fled from his perceptions abruptly and his abused muscles spasmed in the sudden absence of its soothing embrace. Thankfully the crystal that had just as suddenly lost its battle with the more mundane forces of gravity had fallen into his palm and even more comfortingly was still warm to the touch. He'd not have to do this over again at least.
"I believe the traditional greeting would be along the lines of 'Yes Master'?", the Auburn haired interloper observed with dry humour, grey-blue eyes finally alighting on the secluded spot his sandy haired apprentice had chosen for himself.
"Master now is it huh? Delusions of grandeur are a sign of old age", Anakin retorted easily, grimacing as standing proved more painful than it should have any right to.
"It is somewhat fitting even in our rather… unusual, arrangement", folding his hands inside the sleeves of his robes Obi-wan pinned his pupil with what he hoped was a scholarly look of disapproval, one wasted on the younger man as he set to a series of stretching exercises that a non-Jedi would credit a circus performer. It was more than just physical discomfort however, a Jedi should be beyond such concerns, there was something else agitating his Padawan.
"How was your meditation?", he ventured.
"Fine", Anakin bit back, pausing and drawing a calming breath at Obi-wan's narrowed eyes, "Fine, really. It worked, see?"
Anakin held out the crystal he had spent all morning communing with for his Master's inspection.
Obi-wan couldn't see the light at its core that Anakin did, nor could he hear its faint tinkling laughter at the edges of his mind, but he could sense the attraction between the two of them. If he and Anakin were to stand on opposite sides of the cargo hold and a third body toss the crystal directly skyward he had no doubt it would inexplicably land almost at his Padawan's feet.
"Very good Anakin, you've completed one of the first and most vital steps in the construction of your own Lightsaber", Anakin beamed in spite of himself and Obi-wan carefully disguised a knowing smile of his own behind a thoughtful stroking of his recently grown beard.
"Not a moment too soon, it feels… strange, using yours to practice with. Though I think I understand why now"
"Indeed, the crystal is the heart if the 'saber. Tuned to the Force through the Jedi that wields it the weapon becomes a part of the Jedi himself and thus a part of the will of the Force… and rid himself of other burdens"
"My blaster is not a 'burden' Obi-wan", Anakin groused, hand going almost possessively to the butt of the gun holstered in a slightly ratty Nekk hide holster.
Obi-wan considered pushing the issue. The Blaster was something he had tried to discuss with Anakin before and not simply because of his own dislike for any weapon that allowed one being to end the life of another without even having to face the final moments of that being. No there was the matter of what made his young friend cling to such a thing so tightly…
Still today was an auspicious moment in Anakin's training and one that would be better untainted by an unsightly argument between teacher and student.
As his pupil grew and embraced the Force he would learn to let go of the attachments that kept him anchored in the past they so rarely spoke of. So he simply nodded.
Distantly from the open ramp of the ship the faint tones of the news reader for the Courscant Standard News could be heard above the whine of the repulsor bed news board that did laps of the port district during the earliest and latest hours of the day, and with it the deeper, stop start tones of the caster's interviewee. Which brought Obi-wan's attention back to the second reason he had sort out his ensconced Padawan.
"The Council has assigned me to a mission" he offered into the sullen silence that had descended between the two men, striving to bring back the cheer that had been present only moments earlier, "Nothing too exciting per se. One of the money launderers rounded up during our little escapade slipped his parole and vanished".
"Wizard job there by the local constabulary, but this is our problem why?", Anakin blinked as he realised he already referred to himself and the Jedi as 'we', but carried on, "Probably grabbed a hidden pocket of dirty credits and hopped the first transport bound for Nal Hutta which means if he's lucky he''ll make it as far as Alderaan".
"Or get grabbed by the Neimoidians, yes"
"Tough for him, doubt they'll give him too warm a reception after his pals slapped Trade Federation seals of approval on all their goods"
"A not inconsiderable feat all considered, and not a total deception in my opinion"
"You think they were involved?" Anakin asked, taking a seat on the edge of an empty crate as Obi-wan paced and trying to convince himself he really didn't feel the old pang of disappointment that came with being a freighter captain with no goods to haul.
"It certainly wouldn't have hurt to have their competitors in the Corporate Sector flooded with sub-standard materials", the elder Jedi pointed out, "And if the Hutts were footing the bill for the production of the fakes then all they had too do was wait for it all to inevitably come out and rake in the turn in trade as customers of their rivals turned to them to provide untainted goods"
"All the while lapping up the media attention over the unauthorised misuse of their stamp to drum up sympathy from the public and angle for more control over their brand with less outsider access"
"Meaning Senate oversight?"
Exactly… unfortunately not provable at this point and just as equally explainable as genuine concern about protecting their business from further criminal appropriation", Obi-wan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. The Force murmured softly that he was right to distrust the Neimoidians… however being suspicious of a Neimoidian was like taking a towel to a Mon Cal family party; mandatory.
"Of course this is all a thought exercise anyhow, since our friend did not in fact board transport for Nal Hutta", Obi-wan had the minor satisfaction of watching his apprentice almost slip off the edge of his perch.
"Then what in the nine Corellian Hells did we just spend the past five minutes gasing about?", he demanded mimicking a much tighter form of Obi-wan's arm folded posture to cover the loss of balance.
"Think back carefully to the beginning of this conversation, and the important question you asked" he waited patiently as the younger man furrowed his brow in thought.
"… Why are we… the Jedi, interested in this?", the distinction wasn't necessary but if Obi-wan was fazed by it he wasn't showing it.
"Exactly, you asked the right question to start with. Guided to it by the Force and your instincts, but then you got distracted by idle speculation"
"Ok, so do I get the answer oh Master of mine or do I need to sit under the Waterfall in the Temple Gardens for three days first?"
"That could be arranged", Obi-wan held the other's blue eyed gaze until the younger man looked away, "But alas we haven't the time. It seems our friend booked himself a birth on a non-stop flight to Ruuria"
That got Anakin's attention again.
"Rurria? As in one of the big manufacturing centres of the Corporate Sector?"
"The same, and more importantly not a part of the Wanted Person's Act that allows the Republic to place detention and search teams. The only forces allowed to act in the region in minor police matters such as the apprehension of a non violent felon are either the Corporate Sector's own regional defines force or…" he left the end hanging in the air between them.
"An independent group like the Jedi", Anakin finished for him.
"Quite. As I say not a tasking matter but one that will require Jedi attention", turning another smile into a masking stroke of his beard Obi-wan added almost casually, "If we want to catch up we should probably leave post haste, I assume your ship is still stoked and fuelled?"
"Wait", Anakin surged to his feet a jolt of excitement suppressing his surprise that Obi-wan had been aware he'd quietly been keeping the Chance supplied and ready to lift off at a moments notice, "You mean I won't have to wait here at the Temple?"
"Not this time my young friend. It will be a long journey but I think its time I showed you that the Jedi Path is about more than waiting and meditating", he gestured to the almost forgotten crystal in Anakin's hand, "And with luck by the time we reach our destination you will be well on your way in building the 'sabre to house that".
He could feel the younger man's eagerness to build, to learn and to do practically vibrating off him in waves.
"When do we begin?"
"Whenever you're ready Anakin", he answered with an honesty probably lost, "Whenever you're ready".
R&R makes the world go round.
PS: Anyone interested in collaborating in this work of extended fiction simply PM me for a rough story-bible outline of events and write away.
~BH&H